Lou Holtz, the legendary coach of the Notre Dame University's football program, has died at the age of 89 after months in hospice care. Earlier in February, Holtz's family had confirmed in a statement shared with media outlets. At the time, his family had said that Holtz had just days or months to live.
However, an update shared late in February that he was doing well in hospice care despite age-related illnesses.
“The Holtz family, Luanne Altenbaumer, Skip Holtz, Liz Holtz Messaglia, share the difficult news that our father, Coach Lou Holtz, is presently facing a health challenge," a January 29 statement posted by the legendary coach's son, Evan Holtz, on Facebook read.
"While this is a challenging time, our focus is on maintaining his comfort, quality of life and care in his Orlando home."
Lou Holtz Was ‘Doing Better’
Just weeks before his death, ESPN journalist Rece Davis revealed that Holtz, an Indiana coaching legend, was doing better. Citing Evans Holtz, Davis reported that Lou Holtz had a pipe up his nose “waiting on Perry Mason to start.” Davis was speaking on the College GameDay podcast as false rumors about Lou Holtz's spread.
“He’s doing well," Rece Davis said in February. "There were things going around on social media that turned out, thankfully, not to be true. And his caregiver sent me a picture of him from that day. He had his pipe in his mouth, sitting there, probably waiting on Perry Mason to start.”
Holtz coached at William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and South Carolina, leading six programs to bowl games. His peaked at Notre Dame, where he secured the 1988 national championship with a perfect 12–0 season and Fiesta Bowl win, amassing 100 victories.
He also briefly coached the NFL's New York Jets in 1976. Post retirement, he was a college football analyst for ESPN and CBS till 2015.